Director General

Freelance writer and film and television researcher (for hire). He has contributed to a number of books and websites about British archive television and cinema as well as recent television series including work for Moviemail, Frame Rated and Arrow Video. Publications include I.B Tauris's 'Doctor Who: The Eleventh Hour - A Critical Celebration of the Matt Smith and Steven Moffat Era' (2013) and 'Doctor Who - The Pandorica Opens' (2010).

One of the most eagerly awaited new programmes this year is Psychoville the new comedy thriller from those League Of Gentlemen, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton. From early scuttlebutt it sounds as if this is a return to the dark, macabre, horror inspired humour of LoG and the word is out from recent previews that this will not disappoint.

Psychoville is a dark character comedy mystery in which five different characters are strangely linked. It involves an embittered, one-handed children's entertainer, Mr. Jelly, who makes balloon animals with his hook; Robert, a telekinetic dwarf in love with Snow White; Mr. Lomax, a blind avaricious collector; a midwife, Joy, who treats one of her practice dolls as a surrogate child; and David Sowerbutts a serial-killer-obsessed man-child. The five are connected when they all receive anonymous black edged cards saying: "I know what you did."

Starring alongside Pemberton and Shearsmith is an impressive cast that includes, Dawn French, Eileen Atkins, David Bamber, Janet McTeer, Daisy Haggard, Debbie Chazen, Adrian Scarborough, Christopher Biggins and Nicholas Le Prevost. The seven part series is directed by Matt Lipsey, produced by Justin Davies and executive produced by Jon Plowman.

Psychoville is currently scheduled to start on Thursday 18th June on BBC 2 and BBCHD at 10.00pm.

"Frank Collins has produced a book that is fiercely idiosyncratic, displays a wide-ranging intellect the size of a planet, but which is also endearingly open and inclusive in its desire to share its expansive knowledge..." 4/5- Horrorview.com